


Erasmus

by notgerardway



Category: Frank Iero - Fandom, Gerard Way - Fandom, Gerard Way/Frank Iero - Fandom, My Chemical Romance, frerard - Fandom
Genre: Cancer patient - Freeform, Frerard, M/M, frank iero - Freeform, gerard way - Freeform, gerard way/frank iero - Freeform, my chemical romance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:08:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6397726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notgerardway/pseuds/notgerardway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank doesn't give up, not even on the most stubborn patients ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cancer

Frank Iero always had high hopes for his life, even when he was just a little kid. At school, he always played doctor with the kids at the play ground, and whenever someone was actually hurt, he’d do his best to help them himself or take them to the school nurse if he just couldn’t help them. As Frank got older, he was obsessed with the idea of saving people and making a small impact on their lives, like a super hero of some sorts. 

The kid basically lived in books. Comic books, novels, non-fiction or fiction. He didn’t care about the genre. He just wanted to read and escape the real world and create his own in his head. Books gave Frank the motivation that his parents didn’t. Then again, you can’t really blame his parents for not trying. His father was an alcoholic and his mother had stage 3B lung cancer. After his mother died at 34, his father couldn’t cope. The drinking got worse and he often drove Frank to his grand father’s for a sleepover when he just wanted to get shit faced and not have to worry about little baby Frank asking for juice.

One particular night, Frank’s father didn’t pick him up, so his grandfather decided to drive him home and check on the house to make sure everything was fine.  
But nothing was fine. 

As the two walked into the home, they found Frank’s father hung from the ceiling fan in the living room. Lifeless. That scarred the boy for life. At the age of 11, Frank Iero was officially an orphan.

He currently resides with his grandparents who actually give him the love and attention he needs. They support his addiction to books and often take him to the library to borrow new ones. Books allowed Frank to escape from reality and join the world of fiction. As he got older, he matured with his body and matured with his reading, moving on to medical books. 

The medical industry is the closest thing that Frank has to being a real life super hero. So as you can probably guess, he graduated high school on the honours roll, went to college, and received his official PHD working as a surgical oncologist and a medical oncologist. 

Frank is good at his job. He loves treating people and telling them that the cancer was no longer in their body, or telling someone that a cure was found and it’s a miracle that they’re alive. But Frank was afraid he won’t be able to do that for one of his patients. 

Gerard Way was your typical 26-year-old man who lived in his mother’s basement and thought he had his whole life ahead of him. His passion in life was creating art and he got the chance to do so when he landed a job at Flying Turtle Studio in New Jersey, which specified in graphic design.

Gerard hadn’t felt like himself lately. He seemed to run out of energy quickly and found himself having trouble breathing. This went on for about a week and a bit before he woke up one night having a coughing fit and when he pulled his hand away from his mouth, it was covered in blood. Gerard began to worry and felt a heaviness on his chest.  
His mother came downstairs to see if he was alright and when he told her what was happening, she immediately took him to the emergency room. 

Upon arriving, they promptly took Gerard into an exam room took blood, which was a horrific experience for him because he is deathly afraid of needles. They also did an EKG and chest x-rays. 

Gerard waited anxiously or his test results. Being so young, he obviously thought that it would not be something that was life altering. But he thought wrong.  
The tests came back and the results were not anything that anyone ever wants to hear. 

Gerard had been diagnosed with lung cancer. 

His face fell instantly, and felt as though his heart stopped beating inside his chest. The nurse that delivered him the news told him that he has an appointment with a medical oncologist soon and they’ll be in contact and let him know when the meeting will be. Until then, they wait.

As the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes turned into hours, Gerard and his mother found themselves in Mr. Iero’s office, the best medical oncologist in the state of New Jersey. As they awaited his arrival, Gerard’s palms became sweaty and his heart was pounding inside his chest. His eyes darted around the room, looking at all the posters that doctors usually had on the walls of their room to educate their patients. As Gerard’s anxiety heightened, it got harder for him to catch his breath. His mother noticed the change in his demeanor and put a hand on his shoulder, asking him if he was okay. 

“Does it look like I’m okay, mom? I have fucking lung cancer,” he snapped, shrugging his shoulder away from his mother’s touch.  
“But you’re gonna be okay, dear. Trust me.” She reassured him. 

Their eyes darted to the door as Mr. Iero walked inside, holding a clipboard with a grin on his face. Why was he smiling? What was he so happy about? Whatever. He looked like the typical doctor. Reading glasses tucked into his pocket, white lab coat, and a stethoscope around his neck. Then Gerard’s eyes traveled more down his body to his hands and all of the sudden he didn’t look like such a typical doctor anymore.

His hands were covered in tattoos, including knuckle tats, which would actually be really fucking cool in Gerard’s world if he wasn’t about to get diagnosed with a type of lung cancer. 

When Mr. Iero held his hand out the shake both of their hands, Gerard just stared at it. His mother nudged him, awaking him from his day dream and apologized quickly, shaking his hand. 

“I’m Mr. Iero, but you can call me Frank if that’d make you more comfortable, and you’re Gerard, correct?” He let go of his hand, still smiling from when he entered the room.  
Gerard nodded a little, forcing a smile just to be polite. 

“And you are?” Frank turned to Gerard’s mother, extending his hand. 

“I’m Donna, his mother. I was the one who brought him to the ER last night.”

Frank sat down on his chair, placing the clipboard on his desk, taking a few of the papers off. He turned around on his chair and faced the two of them, pulling out his glasses and putting them on. He flipped through the papers then looked up. 

“So, we got your test results back last night. I’m sure the nurse already told you that you had a form of lung cancer?” He addressed. 

Gerard opened his mouth, but nothing came out due to the fear. Instead, he just nodded. 

Frank hummed and looked back at the papers, making sure what he was about to say was correct. “It’s worse than we thought,” He started. “It’s stage 3b lung cancer. I’m so sorry.” 

Gerard’s heart stopped beating and he just started at Frank, tears started prickling in his eyes and his face fell completely. He didn’t care how fucking stupid he looked. He started bawling his eyes out an turned to his mom who immediately wrapped her arms around him to comfort him. They stayed like that for a while until Donna spoke up. 

“So, is there a treatment? Can you get rid of it?” She asked, her voice full of fear. 

“Well, the tumor is difficult and almost impossible to remove for almost all stage 3a and stage 3b cancers. For example, the lung cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes located in the center of the chest, which is outside the lung. Or, the tumor may have grown into nearby structures in the lung. It’s really hard to predict right now. It’s less likely that the surgeon can completely remove the cancer because the removal process needs to be performed bit by bit. The best thing I can recommend right now is to go through chemo, which isn’t even a guarantee, but it can help.” 

Gerard continued to cry, hearing this awful news. “So you’re saying I’m going to die?” he choked out between sobs. He brought his hands up to his face to wipe away the tears, trying to calm down his breathing. 

“I didn’t say that. I’m going to try my damn best to get you cancer free, but we need to start your treatment right away. For now, you need an oxygen tank and you need to wear a nasal cannula at all times to regulate the amount of air that gets into your lungs.” 

“Okay, but. What if it doesn’t work and the cancer spreads? How long do I have?” 

Frank paused and thought for a minute. He furrowed his brows, remembering the amount of time his mother had before she passed away. Of course, the doctors didn’t do shit to take the cancer away, but she still lived for quite a long time with lung cancer. 

“If it doesn’t work, and that’s a huge if, then you’re not expected to live past 30.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my very first chapter fic and i hope u all like it ! you can follow me on tumblr for updates ! @/notgerardway


	2. Diagnosis

When Frank told him he wasn’t expected to live past 30, his heart sunk. But he didn’t do anything extraordinary with his life after that. He got his oxygen tank that he had to drag around with him 24/7. He was still getting used to the cannula in his nose all the time and getting it tangled with his clothes when he wants to change.

He didn’t do anything a cancer patient would usually do. When you get told when you’re going to die, you create a bucket list of things you want to do in the time span you’re given. Gerard was different. 

He continued doing normal every day things. As normal as it gets when you have lung cancer. He doesn’t care about travelling, getting laid, things like that. He wouldn’t be able to do those things without thinking about how he’s only doing them because he’s dying. He’d much rather live his life as normally as possible. 

Gerard is extremely terrified of dying, but he hasn’t let that emotion take over his body quite yet. He hasn’t excepted the fact that he’ll be gone in a few years, but since he knows he won’t be alive very long, he does his best to appreciate the good things that happen to him, no matter how big or small. 

Despite the cancer and how much it’s changed Gerard’s everyday life, he’s a very happy and positive person. Cancer didn’t give him depression, if anything, it made him learn how to relax.

But there’s one thing that he’s dead set on. He’s not taking chemo. Chemo will just make him more sick, so what’s the point? He’s done for anyways. He doesn’t want to suffer more than he already is. Gerard can barely make it up his stairs and make himself a meal without having to sit down and take a break.

After about a week of getting used to his new lifestyle, Frank called to ask how he was managing and if he was free to come in for an appointment in a few days because there’s some things they need to discuss. Gerard agreed and they picked a day that worked for the both of them. 

It was now Wednesday, which was the day of the appointment. Gerard didn’t really know what expect of this. He was just here a little over a week ago. 

Gerard’s mother drove him and dropped him off at the front of the doctor’s office, wishing him luck and telling him she’ll be parked right outside when he’s done. Gerard waved goodbye and walked into the building with his oxygen tank. People in the waiting room instantly started staring at him, which kinda bothered him, but he just shrugged it off. He walked up to the front desk to check in. “Um, I’m here for an appointment with Frank Iero?” he told the brunette that was working as a receptionist. She typed something up on her computer and smiled when she found what she was looking for. 

“Gerard Way?” she asked, her voice sounding sweet. He nodded. “Mr. Iero is waiting for you in his office.” She told him, examining his face and most likely looking at his nasal cannula. “Do you need help getting there?”

Gerard shook his head and grabbed his oxygen tank again. “I’ll be fine, but thank you for the offer.” He forced a smile and started making his way down the long hallway lit up by dingy lights that doctor’s offices usually have. Really represents the feeling of “I’m gonna die soon.” 

He’s noticed that ever since he’s started carrying around his oxygen tank and nasal cannula that more and more people and staring at him or asking him if he needs help walking across the street or something stupid like that. He has cancer, but that doesn’t make him any less of a person. He hates being treated that way. 

As he started getting closer to Frank’s office, he became nervous of what was about to come. He had no idea why he was here in the first place. 

Gerard braced himself and peaked in the room were he saw Frank hunched over his desk jotting something down with those beautiful tattooed hands. Fuck, okay. He might have a thing for his doctor. But he’s never going to admit that to his mom or anybody. 

His eyes travel down his doctor’s neck and caught a glimpse of a back piece? Oh my god, his doctor got hotter. He’s definitely hiding more tattoos under all those clothes.  
Frank obviously didn’t even notice Gerard was in the room until his breath hitched. He turned around on his swivel chair and grinned. “Gerard! Sit down, please.” He offered, gesturing to the small row of seats he had up against the wall. 

Gerard sat down and set his oxygen tank beside his feet, pushing down the handle. 

“So,” Frank started, “how’s your breathing been now that you have your oxygen tank to help you?” He asked, clasping his hands together in his lap. 

“I mean uh- It’s better. I still have trouble walking up my stairs.” He told him, his eyes glancing from Frank’s hands to his eyes. 

“That’s still gonna happen, Gerard. Now, since our last chat, we were talking about chemo, yes? Well, I’ve booked you something next week-“ 

“I’m not doing chemo.” Gerard interrupted very firmly in the middle of Frank’s sentence. 

Frank just stared at him, his mouth hanging open like he had just been slapped in the face. “Pardon me?” 

“I’m not doing it.” He repeated, still looking at Frank. “I’m gonna die soon anyways, why would I start doing something that’s gonna make me even more sick? There’s no point. I’m not doing it, I’m sorry. I don’t want to waste my mom’s money on something that’s useless.” He stated, leaving Frank in shock at his words. 

“Gerard, you don’t underst-“ 

“No, listen. I’m not doing chemo and you’re not going to make me change my mind.” He told him again, his brows furrowed and his nose scrunched up in a manner that was supposed to look like he was mad, but to Frank, it was just adorable. 

Frank signed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “Listen,” he started, putting his glasses back on, looking right into Gerard’s eyes. “I know what you fear if you do this. You fear taking all of your parent’s money, you fear getting more sick than you already are, and that’s fine. That’s not unusual for a cancer patient.” 

Gerard just rolled his eyes at his words. He understands that Frank is just doing his job as a doctor and that his words are just to bribe him. Nothing is going to change his mind.  
“I want you to think about it, okay? For me. You’re probably terrified about losing your hair.” He giggled. “I would be too. Your hair is really nice. But so what? Would you rather be bald than dead?” 

Gerard thought for a moment and looked down at his oxygen tank. “I’m not doing it, I’m sorry.” He mumbled quietly under his breath, but loud enough for Frank to hear him. He grabbed the handle and extended it, standing up and looking sadly at Frank one more time before leaving the doctor’s office. 

Frank cursed quietly and stretched in his chair. “So he’s gonna be one of those ones. That’s fine. I’ll get to him.” 

Frank isn’t one to give up easily. Especially on stubborn patients. His job was to help people, save people, and damn it. He’s not letting Gerard lose this fight.


	3. Time For a Date

Frank was currently in the kitchen of his apartment making himself dinner. The smell of artificial cheese flooded the room as his macaroni came to a boil. It wasn’t anything special, but it didn’t have to be. He was only cooking for himself after all. He stirred around the noodles and kept thinking about the events that occurred earlier today. He can’t just let Gerard leave his office like that, thinking that he’s not going to make it. 

He continued thinking of ways to change his mind. Going for a walk in the park seemed like too much work a guy with lung cancer. Anything with a lot of walking was too much work, so he ruled out all of those possible ideas he had in his mind. 

He let out a loud hiss as the macaroni and cheese had boiled over and the hot steam scalded his hand, pulling him away from his thoughts. He cursed quietly and turned off the burner, taking the pot off the stove and setting it aside. Fuck, he always got distracted when cooking. He gripped his wrist tightly as he walked over to the sink and started running cold water over the small burn wound. 

Thoughts flooded back into his mind and he kept discarding the ones he didn’t like, until the perfect idea. An idea that will help Gerard get to know Frank more on a personal level and share his interests with him. Frank loved reading and he knew a perfect library with a coffee shop inside, because who doesn’t like coffee and reading? The two go together so perfectly. 

Frank looked down at the water in his sink and cursed yet again, noticing that it was almost overflowing. He has got to stop getting so distracted when he thinks of Gerard. He turned the knob and dried his hands quickly, taking a look inside the pot of macaroni and cheese and scrunched up his nose. “Ew,” he said quietly. “Who fucks up mac and cheese?” He grinned at his little mess and mentally slapped himself, putting the pot next to his sink to take care of later. As a last resort, he pulled out two hot pockets and put them in the microwave for 2 minutes. 

When the microwave beeps, Frank takes out his pitiful diner and pads over to the couch, setting them down and waiting for them to cool down enough to eat. In the mean time, Frank gets Gerard’s phone number from his doctor reports and decides to call him. 

A few short beeps later, Gerard answers. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi! It’s Frank. Your doctor. Obviously. Unless you know a different Frank? Anyways, um. I’m just calling to see how you’re doing. I always call and check up on my new patients.” Lie. That was such a lie. He just needed an excuse to not sound creepy. 

Gerard giggled on the other line. “I’m doing fine. Is that all you wanted?” He asked. 

“Uh- No. That’s not all. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the library with me then get some coffee or something. I know this really peaceful library. I can pick you up if you want?” He rambled in, probably sounding annoying and desperate at the same time. He didn’t care, though. Maybe other doctors do this kind of stuff with their patients. 

Gerard’s line was silent except for the sound of breathing. Frank wished he would just say something already. 

“I- Yeah. That’d be nice. When?” 

“Tomorrow at 2? If that’s okay.” His hands were shaking and his heart started pounding. Why was he so nervous all of the sudden? 

“2 is good.” Gerard responded, his voice sounding happier than it did when he first answered the phone. 

“Tomorrow at 2, then. I’ll talk to you later.” Frank responded, feeling accomplished. 

“Wait,” Gerard started. “What you said earlier. Does that mean when I’m not a new patient, you’re not gonna call me anymore?” He asked, sounding flirty. 

Frank grinned, but Gerard couldn’t tell. “I can keep calling you if you want.” 

Gerard chuckled. “Goodnight, Frank.” And with that, the line went silent. 

The next day actually came rather quickly. He woke up at a decent time and had time for a shower, shave, and a quick breakfast. At around 1:30, he left his apartment and started heading to Gerard’s house. 

The traffic wasn’t that bad, seeing as it was almost 2 on a Wednesday afternoon. All in all, the drive was long. Too long for Frank’s liking. But when he pulled up at Gerard’s house, he wasn’t prepared. 

He’s just a patient, he kept telling himself. There’s nothing to be worried about. He pushed all of his worries aside and got out of the car, walking up to Gerard’s door. He knocked softly and heard someone shuffling around. A few seconds later, Gerard opened the door with a smile on his face. Probably the first time he’s seen him smile. One side of his mouth was more quirked up than the another. His hair was all poofy and his cannula was a little crooked, but he didn’t mention it. 

“Hi! Uh, I’m kinda ready. I lost track of time, but I’ll be okay. Do I need to bring anything?” He asked, patting his pockets, checking to see if he had his keys and his wallet.  
“You’re good. Let’s go.” 

Gerard nodded and locked the door, walking out an shielding his eyes from the sun. “Shoulda brought sun glasses.” He chuckled, making his way down the steps. 

Frank being the gentleman that he is opened the passenger door for his date then made his way over to his own side and getting inside the vehicle. 

“So, I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to get to know each other better. Frank started, striking up a simple conversation. He started his car and backed out of his parking spot and started driving. 

“You said we’re going to the library today?” Gerard wondered, looking over at his date. 

Frank nodded. “Indeed we are. I love reading, and I thought it would be a cool idea for you to get to know me better. Outside of a work environment, of course.” 

The conversation subsided and Frank focused on the road. The radio played silently in the background. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Gerard bob his head to the music ever so slightly. 

After getting through the afternoon traffic, Frank found a place to park and shut off the vehicle. “Alright. We’re here.” 

The two got out of the car and walked into the large building and Gerard’s jaw dropped. “It’s so… Big. I’ve never been in a library this big before.” He continued looking around at all the places they could walk around and sit at. It was amazing. 

“Follow me, I want you to read one of my favorite books.” Frank nodded in the direction he was headed towards and Gerard followed along as quickly as he could without running out of breath. 

“So, I obviously wanted to talk to you about chemo while we were here.” Frank started, looking in Gerard’s direction. He slowed his walking so his date could catch up. 

Gerard rolled his eyes and sighed sadly. “There’s no point, Frank. I’m gonna die anyways. I don’t want to lose my hair or throw up all the time just to die in the end.” 

Frank hated hearing his patients being so negative. Whenever someone hears the words cancer, they almost always think there’s no cure and that they’re going to die eventually. “That’s really negative Gerard. You’re almost 26. You have so much to live for still. You can’t let cancer drag you down like this. Plus, hair always grows back.” He tried reassuring him, walking towards the large bookshelves in the middle of the library. 

“It’s pretty close to incurable, you said it yourself. I just don’t see the point in trying.” Gerard’s voice sounded very sad. He is sad, Frank can tell. He just doesn’t want to admit it to himself. 

“You can’t just give up, though.” He assured him, walking down an isle. 

“I mean. I still have this small bit of hope that I'm going to live but. That's because I'm scared. I'm trying to make myself feel better. You know I'm going to die and you know that there's no helping that. I'd just like to live these last few years as peacefully as I can. As normal as I can.”

Frank’s heart broke. He hated seeing Gerard feel so down about this. He’s only known him for a week and a bit, but ever since their first meeting, he just felt very determined to help him. Maybe because his mom had the same cancer as him. 

“This is one of my favorite mystery books,” Frank claimed, changing the subject very quickly. “It’s called The Murder at the Vicarage. It’s about this guy named Colonel Lucius Protheroe. Basically, the townsfolk want him dead. So, he’s murdered. And two different people confess to killing him. And then they hire a detective and the rest is history. I’ll give this to you to read, and then you can tell me how you like it in a few days.” Frank beamed. He loved talking about books. It was his passion, other than helping people. He handed the book over to Gerard. 

Gerard grinned and watched carefully as Frank was describing the plot of the story to him. He was just so beautiful. Fuck, he shouldn’t have a crush on his doctor. That was wrong. “How fast do you read books?” He asked curiously, examining the book in his hands. 

Frank thought for a moment and scrunched up his nose, nibbling his lip. He hummed quietly. “I read 400 page novels in about 3 days.” 

“Holy shit.” 

“Holy shit is right.” He let out a breathy laugh. “Do you wanna get coffee upstairs now?” He offered, turning to look at Gerard. 

He nodded and followed Frank’s lead as they walked into the built in Starbucks. This place really had it all. 

After they got their coffee, they found an empty table at the back of the café and sat down again. 

“Can I ask you something?” Gerard began, setting his coffee down after he took a few sips. 

“Of course. What is it?” 

“Promise you won’t get offended?” He asked again, looking at Frank seriously now. 

“I promise. What is it?” He repeated again. 

“I feel like you're only doing this because I'm sick- is that true? Because if you, for some reason feel like you have to do this, you really don't.” His words were sincere. He really feels like people are only doing things for him because he’s sick. 

“I’m not doing this because you’re sick, Gerard. I do want to help you realize the beauty in life, yes. But that’s not the only reason why I’m taking you on a date.” 

“Why are you taking me on a date, then?” He asked, cradling his coffee in his hands, taking a sip of it and watching Frank. 

“Because I like you.” He replied. 

Gerard blushed. He fucking blushed. That cute mother fucker. He took another sip of his drink as if to hide his blush from Frank. But he saw it. He saw it, alright. 

He was fucked for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope u all love this chapter as much as i do! comments and feedback are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> hello ! this is my first chapter fic and i have so much planned for this fic ! i hope u all enjoy it as much as i do. my tumblr is notgerardway and my instagram is genocidefrank if u wanna know when updates are gonna be posted !


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